Phone and Tablet Tips
Brilliant things to do on your device
ANDROID & iOS
Apply effects to WhatsApp photos and videos
In Issue 701 (page 44), we wrote about WhatsApp’s new effects for video calls. It has now extended this feature to let you apply effects, filters and backgrounds to photos and videos you share in standard text chats.
These save you having to use a separate image- or video-editing app to make content you share more interesting and fun. They also offer the practical benefit of blurring or replacing the background of shots to protect your privacy.
To try these new tools, press the camera button in the message box of a WhatsApp chat and select either Photo or Video. Tap the magic-wand button and three options will appear below the camera viewfinder – Effects, Filters and Backgrounds.
Tap ‘Effects’ (see screenshot right), press Continue and select the effect you want to apply, such as Star Windows, Sparkles or Puppy. Tap ‘Filters’ to choose from 12 options – including B&W (black and white), Fisheye and ‘Frosted glass’ – and tap Background to try designs such as Kitchen, Beach and Celebration.
You can combine the tools to achieve more creative results. In our screenshot we’ve mixed the Underwater effect with the Dreamy filter. Tap or long-press an option to capture the enhanced photo or video and share it in your WhatsApp chat.